If we left it up to Anne to write her own bio, it would never get posted. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself, but Anne does love exploring the Twin Cities with her family and sharing her finds here. She, her husband and their four kids are lifelong residents of St. Paul.

While Dad’s away, Mom and the kids will play! We devoted Saturday to checking out a couple spots in Minneapolis we’d been meaning to get to for years (really, for years):

The Firefighters Hall & Museum (664 22nd Ave NE, Minneapolis) is great for kids who like to get their little hands on things. Take a ride in a real fire truck, work switchboards and alarms, drive a simulator and — my kids’ favorite part — pump water to extinguish a fire on a building facade. The museum is open Saturdays 9am – 4pm or by appointment. Cost is $6/adults, $3/kids ages 3-12. Read more about our trip to the Firefighters Hall & Museum on our family blog here.

Later on, the kids tried their hand at printmaking. Highpoint Center for Printmaking (912 W Lake St, Minneapolis) hosts four themed Free Ink Days a year, suitable for (almost) all ages. Here’s a tip for relief printing: come with some designs in mind or even with sketches. Also, don’t come at the last minute because this is a process you won’t want to rush. We finished cleaning up just in time to catch a special performance of “The Amazing Cowboat” by Open Eye Figure Theater. Entertaining puppetry for kids and adults alike! Find out where Open Eye will be next during their Driveway Tour 2014.

Now, I’ll move over and let Joy and Gianna have some space. Joy’s family made an evening of it watching the Calhoun Isles Community Band. Their final performance of the summer will be at July 31 at 6:30pm in Bryant Square Park, Minneapolis.

About the author

Anne Kingston

If we left it up to Anne to write her own bio, it would never get posted. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself, but Anne does love exploring the Twin Cities with her family and sharing her finds here. She, her husband and their four kids are lifelong residents of St. Paul.